Shop selling cigarettes in Doncaster for £3.50 a pack has licence revoked

The shop, Polskie Smakie, will no longer be able to sell tobacco after Doncaster Council's licensing sub committee stripped of its licence following two test purchase operations on its premises at Beckett Road, Wheatley.

The store is a grocery store which had a premises licence for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

But its licence, held by Hoshmand Aminishokri, was reviewed after 'illicit' tobacco was found to be sold from the site during two test purchase operations carried out by Trading Standards.

The test purchases were carried out on May 30 and December 1 last year.

Documents presented to the sub-committee at the hearing stated the first incident had occurred on May 30 when a pack of Marlboro was sold for £5 at the shop. The cigarettes had Polish writing on them and were not in plain packaging, as demanded by UK law.

At that point, Doncaster Trading Standards contacted Mr Aminishokri, told him what the law was and warning him what would happen if tobacco that did not comply with the rules was sold from the store again.

But on December 1, the story sold a pack of 'Richmond' cigarettes for £3.50. They were also not in plan packaging, so did not comply with British regulations.

The minimum duty on one pack of 20 cigarettes is £5.37.

South Yorkshire Police backed the licence review.

A letter from the force to the council stated: "The sale of illicit tobacco can be linked to organised crime, and these premises are providing an outlet for such activity to be carried out."

The licence was revoked after a hearing on Thursday.